Feed me or Feed Others

Local San Diegian Peter Drucker has always touted in his public speaking and books that you have to know what your mission is and who your customer is.  Two vitally important things that need utmost attention.


In his book "Crazy Love"  Francis Chan says "Christians are like manure; spread it out and it causes growth all around, keep it in a pile and it stinks."  It's killing the church, blinding our vision, and paralyzing the mission. "I didn't get anything out of it." I want to go where I'm fed." I need to be ministered to." I always thought that "worship" was about what we can give, not what we can get?

So what's the mission? Is it to seek and to save the lost (how could we have a mission other than the one Christ had and then entrusted to us). Yes, the Great Commission involves discipleship via evangelism  as if doing one prevents concentrating on the other. It’s a both/and, not an either/or.  Evangelism must be priority.

Who, then, is our primary customer? It is inescapable - if our mission is to evangelize then disciple, then our “customer” is the one who is lost...not the piled up group. Here is the breakdown - most churches have, as their primary focus, reaching and then serving the already convinced. So the mission isn’t making disciples, but caring for them. From this, services rendered to the believer become paramount. They become the customer in a consumer-driven mission.

Then it’s not about whether you are fed, but whether or not you have learned to feed yourself and, best of all, feed others.

Then it’s not about whether you are ministered to, but whether you are, yourself, a minister to others.

Then it’s not about whether you got anything out of the service, but whether you gave God anything of service.

Now remind me again why do we have the Holy Spirit?